Invincible IP LLC v. SAS Institute Inc.

Background

Invincible IP LLC sued SAS Institute Inc. under 35 U.S.C. § 271, alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 8,954,993 B2 and 9,479,472 B2. SAS moved to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), arguing that the complaint did not plausibly allege the elements needed for a patent-infringement claim.

Court’s Analysis

The court explained that a patent-infringement complaint must provide enough factual detail to make liability plausible. At a minimum, the complaint had to identify the asserted patents, specifically identify the accused products, and allege that those products met every element of at least one patent claim.

The court found that Invincible IP had not specifically identified the accused product. The complaint stated that SAS provided its customers with use of “SAS Institute,” calling it the “Accused Instrumentality,” while also describing SAS as a corporation. The complaint also included website screenshots that appeared to reflect one product, but the materials submitted with SAS’s motion showed that the screenshots came from at least five webpages and concerned four different SAS products. The court concluded that the complaint did not give SAS adequate notice of the alleged infringing activity or plausibly allege that one or more SAS products infringed the patents.

The court also considered SAS’s website materials because the complaint relied on selected screenshots, making the full website integral to the pleading for purposes of the motion.

Ruling

Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein granted SAS Institute Inc.’s motion to dismiss with leave to amend. The court stated that the complaint failed to satisfy Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a), 35 U.S.C. § 271, and the requirement that the infringement allegations be plausible. Invincible IP LLC may file an amended complaint no later than September 29, 2022. The Clerk was directed to terminate the motion docketed as ECF No. 11.